


Courage, Alcohol, and Useful Combinations Thereof

by nonbinarycoded



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, it's not one-sided this time, reciprocated feelings, so it's ok it's not sad or weird i promise, vax is very drunk but makes it clear he'd still be saying this if he were sober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 08:54:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9064912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonbinarycoded/pseuds/nonbinarycoded
Summary: After the Chroma Conclave falls, Whitestone erupts into drinking and celebrating. Vax takes the opportunity to make another move on Kash, which is normal.
Kashaw realizes what's going on this time, which is less normal.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the severe lack of Vax/Kash fics, and [the prompt veshkashaw on tumblr gave me!](http://veshkashaw.tumblr.com/post/154963003212/hey-so-0-works-in-vaxkash-is-a-fucking-tragedy)

“So!”

“Oh god,” Kash says, because no good conversation has ever begun with someone in Vox Machina saying the word ‘so’ that emphatically. Whether or not good conversations have ever begun with Vax draping himself over someone’s shoulders, Kashaw couldn’t be the judge; this is his first time experiencing that particular conversation starter.

“You’re drinking to celebrate too, huh?” Vax didn’t really need to use the word _ too _ when Kash can smell berry alcohol on his breath, and when half the city is out in the streets to celebrate the fall of the Chroma Conclave. Kash had begun drinking early, before most of the parties had started, and managed to snag a seat in the corner of a tavern before it filled up. He’d also managed to stay looking ornery enough that nobody wanted to sit with him or even approach him until Vax showed up.

“Vax, there’s almost nobody in Whitestone right now who isn’t drunk. You’re included in that, apparently, so I’ll say this slowly:  _ get off me _ .”

Vax makes absolutely no move to get off him. Kash stares pointedly down at his drink. It becomes an odd sort of staring contest, with Kash unwilling to move and accept Vax as a permanent fixture, and Vax too drunk to realize Kash is being serious.

Eventually, it clicks, and Vax slides into the seat next to Kash. One arm stays slung over Kash’s shoulders, and Kash gingerly lifts it by the hand and moves it back to Vax’s lap. It immediately finds its way around Kash’s waist instead, and, deciding that this is a lost cause, Kash sighs and accepts it. There are worse things to have to deal with than overly-affectionate drunks.

“Kashaw, tell me something.”

“Oh boy.”

“What in the world is someone as handsome as you doing drinking  _ alone? _ ”

Kash frowns, and lets a silence fall over the pair while he tries to process what Vax just asked. “Vax. Vax’ildan.”

“Hm?” Vax is leaning over on him now, one cheek resting on Kash’s shoulder.

“Are you  _ flirting _ with me?”

“Have been since I first met you, but thanks for finally noticing.”

That gets Kash in motion. He pulls himself back from the table, back from Vax, who only looks mildly annoyed to have his pillow so rudely snatched from under him. “What the fuck are you talking about— How much did you drink?”

Vax gives a shrug and a lazy grin, opting to lean forward on the table instead. “Percy gave me a bottle of something just called Courage. I drank…  _ most  _ of the bottle. Not all.”

“Of course he did.” If Kash hadn’t heard of it, he’d think Percy had given Vax a potion.

“But I’ve been flirting with you sober too. Kash, we had an entire conversation about how good looking you are!”

“ _ You _ had that conversation, it was  _ really _ one sided, you were half drunk while you had it, and you dragged other people into it—” In hindsight, alright, maybe that was flirting. Terrible flirting, and flirting other people had encouraged, which, really, just made it more confusing. But  _ maybe _ it was flirting.

“Kash. Come on. If you’re going to shut me down, then do it, and I’ll stop. Just tell me if I’m getting anywhere with this.”

Shit.  _ Shit _ . Okay, see, this is why it’s a problem that Kash isn’t the greatest with words. Answers to things like this require  _ tact _ . Or, at the very least, more tact than saying, “No, please don’t stop this, it’s great, it just threw me off because I apparently have worse observational skills than Grog.”

Kash somehow manages to be even  _ less _ tactful when he settles on saying, “I don’t want you to stop, but this is absolutely fucking not a conversation I want to have while I’m sober because I don’t want to remember how badly I fuck it up.”

Vax, bless his heart, is so drunk he doesn’t even give a shit how bad that sounded. “Well, I have half a bottle of Courage left. Believe me, it gets you drunk  _ really _ fast.”

“Yeah, that’s obvious.”

“Well, if you wanna follow me back to my room, you can have the rest of it.”

Kashaw hadn’t even been drinking, and he still managed to choke. “I— _ What?” _

“If you don’t want to, I’ll stop, and I’ll leave, and I’ll be  _ very _ sorry about all of this. In the morning. When you’ll believe I’m sorry, because I’ll still feel bad when I’m sober. But if you want to, then I don’t see why we’re waiting around.”

Kash can’t even come up with a snarky comeback to that. He collects his jaw from the floor, knocks back the last dregs of the  _ abominably _ shitty beer he’d been nursing, and stands. “Lead the way, I guess.” If he can just maintain this attitude of  _ fuck it _ until he was suitably drunk, tonight will go great.

Vax absolutely beams up at him before grabbing Kash’s arm and dragging himself to his feet. If they catch eyes while heading up into the castle and through the corridors together, neither cares.

* * *

And, for the record, Courage is  _ very _ aptly named.

**Author's Note:**

> Vax wakes up the next morning with the worst hangover he's ever had and Kash wrapped around him, by the way. Kash doesn't even spoon, he just octopus clings to the nearest available warmth.


End file.
